Objective To study the effects and the mechanism of astragalus menbranaceus (AM) on neonatal lymphocyte apoptosis in cord blood. Methods Cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMC) of 30 full-term neonates were cultured with pure phytohemagglutinin (PHA), PHA combined with IL-6 (PHA + IL-6) or AM (PHA + AM) respectively for 48 hours. The apoptosis index (AI) of lymphocytes of CBMC after cultivation were determined by acridine orange-ethidium bromide dying method. The positive expression of CD38 antigen and CD25 antigen were detected by indirect immunofluorescence procedure. The levels of IL-6 in the supernatants of CBMC were detected by ELISA . Results (1) The AI of the PHA + AM group (16. 5?3. 5)% and PHA+IL-6 group (16. 9?4. 0)% was lower than that of the pure PHA group (32.4?2.8)% (P0. 05). (2) The positive expression rates of CD38 of the PHA+AM group and the PHA+IL-6 group were lower than those of the pure PHA group (P0. 05). The positive expression rates of CD25 of the PHA + AM group and the PHA + IL-6 group were higher than those of the pure PHA group (P0. 05). The positive expression of CD38 of CBMC had positive correlation, but CD25 had negative correlation with the AI of CBMC(r=0. 68, -0. 65,P

Objective To study the features and its effect factors of T lymphocyte apoptosis in preterm neonates. Methods The susceptibility to apoptosis of T lymphocytes were determined in 30 full-term neonates and 19 preterm neonates by percentage calculation of apoptosis cell and DNA fragmentation analysis. The expression of CD 25 and CD 38 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the volume of IL-2 and IL-6 produced by lymphocytes incubated for 48 h was determined by immunofluorescence procedure and ELISA. Results T lymphocyte apoptosis was easier in preterm(27.2?2.7)%,(34.8?3.9)% than in full-term neonates(21.1?1.4)%,(27.9?2.3)% at incubating 24 h, 48 h(t=10.547,7.789;P

Objective To explore the effects of recombinant human growth hormone(rh-GH) on immune function in children with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) after radical operation. Methods Thirty children with TOF were divided into two groups: conventional (n=20) and rh-GH (n=10, 0.2U/kg rhGH, sc., three times per week for 4 weeks). The immunoglobulin, complement fraction, lymphocyte subsets, and interleukins were determined. Results After treatment, the abnormal elevation of IgG, IgM, C_3, C_4, CD8~+ and CD19~+ in rhGH group decreased significantly at 1 week to 3 weeks; moreover, the abnormal descend of IgA, CD3~+, CD4~+, CD4~+/CD8~+, CD3~+/HLA-DR~+, and CD3~+/CD~ (16+56) in rh-GH group increased significantly at 1 week to 2 weeks compared to those of conventional group; and all recovered to the levels of control at 4 weeks. The interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-? levels in the plasma and supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclearcytes decreased gradually at 1 week to 2 weeks after treatment compared to those of conventional group, and also recovered to the levels of control at 4 weeks. Conclusion rh-GH therapy could significantly improve immune function of children with TOF after radical operation.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; blood ; Male ; Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch ; blood ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; blood